Smith denounces Wembley criticism

Picketts Lock plans were later dropped

Former Culture Secretary Chris Smith has launched a fierce defence of his handling of the UK bid to host the 2005 World Athletics Championships after stinging criticism by MPs.

Mr Smith said the Commons culture media and sport select committee report had put colourful language before the facts.

This is a highly tendentious report which I fear has been written more with an eye to its entertainment value

Chris Smith

The committee reserved particular criticism for Mr Smith in its attack on the stalled Wembley Stadium redevelopment plan and the failed Pickett's Lock athletics project in north-east London.

It said Mr Smith went "beyond his proper responsibilities" when he decided to remove athletics from the plans for a redeveloped national stadium at Wembley.

Facts not analysed

Mr Smith, who was sacked from the cabinet in the summer, hit back at the MPs' report on BBC Radio 4's World At One programme.

"This is a highly tendentious report which I fear has been written more with an eye to its entertainment value then with a real respect for an analysis of the facts," he said.

"I regret that because I think the select committee has not done itself justice by the way in which it has written this report."

Smith has come out fighting against criticism

Mr Smith rejected the committee's conclusion that his decision to remove the proposed temporary athletics track from the Wembley plans was hurried and taken on "flimsy and subjective grounds".

He argued that having a £25m temporary athletics track at Wembley which took six months to construct and as long to take down again was neither practical nor value for money.

'Involvement right'

It would have been a "dereliction of duty" for the government not to have been involved in the stadium plans, he said as he defended his decision to intervene in the project.

The former minister said all organisations involved in the project had agreed it was better to pursue the Pickett's Lock alternative for athletics.

Tessa Jowell decided not to bankroll Picketts Lock

Mr Smith did not agree with the decision of Tessa Jowell, his successor as culture secretary, to scrap the Picketts Lock plan.

The project would have provided a very good stadium for the championships as well as a key facility for north London communities and schools, he argued.

There has been criticism too of the deal Mr Smith struck with Chelsea chairman Ken Bates for the Football Association to return £20m when the athletics plans for Wembley were dropped.

Private meeting reports

The money has still not been repaid and the Guardian newspaper on Wednesday alleged the meeting took place at Mr Smith's home with no civil servants present.

Mr Smith countered the claims, saying a civil servant was there throughout the "substantive discussion", which was properly minuted.

He stressed both the FA and Wembley Stadium Limited had publicly committed themselves to returning the £20m.

When the critical report was published on Tuesday, culture committee chairman Gerald Kaufman said Picketts Lock had been a "bad idea" from the start.

'Farce'

"But it is not fair to say that Chris Smith is responsible for everything," Mr Kaufman added. "There are many players in this melodrama, or farce."

Mr Smith's fierce defence of his time in office comes amid reports that the FA is set to announce plans to rebuild Wembley as the national stadium.

If the plans do not go ahead, the FA could face legal action from Sport England to recover the £120m lottery grant for the project.

A decision on where to build a new stadium for English football has yet to be made and plans to develop a site in the Midlands are still on the table.